seafood

My husband has described us as semi-committed locavores, which is an apt description, I think. While buying and eating locally grown products is important to us, there are some things we are comfortable making an exception for. While it may appear that some weeks we eat little more than pork in its various permutations, we have tried to incorporate lots of seafood into our diet. It’s something we both love, and the health benefits are many, so even though we try to eat fish from local waters, there are some varieties we will seek out from farther away.

Aside from anchovies, I didn’t really develop a taste for many of the oily, dark-fleshed varieties of fish until a year or two ago, and now, I actually crave them. Fresh or tinned sardines find their way into many meals or snacks, and bluefish is a regional favorite I can’t get enough of, but the mere mention of mackerel by Molly of Orangette a couple of days ago sent me into a frenzy. We used to get beautiful specimens from the seafood vendors at Union Square, but finding mackerel is more of a hit-or-miss operation here. But I had to have it, and Mike obliged, traveling to not one but two different Whole Foods seafood counters in an effort to bring me my mackerel.

Particularly in summer, I tend to like my seafood simple – a little fresh lemon juice, olive oil or butter, maybe some fresh herbs or a simple condiment, and away we go. But the minute I knew I wanted mackerel, I also knew how I wanted to prepare it. I mixed up a marinade that would also serve as a sauce for the finished fish: tart lime juice, salty tamari, some olive oil and a copious amount of chopped lemongrass, ginger and garlic, whisked together and poured over the fish. I reserved a little of the mixture for later, and let the mackerel fillets marinate for half an hour or so – long enough for a round of cocktails and to build our fire on the grill.

Since the fillets were on the small side, we placed them in a grill basket for ease of cooking. Mike grilled them for a couple of minutes skin side down, rotated the basket (still on the skin side) and let them go a couple of minutes more, and finally flipped the basket and finished cooking the mackerel on the flesh side. They came off after less than 10 minutes total, and I served them on a bed of black rice and arugula, with thinly sliced scallions scattered on top, and the reserved marinade on the side for drizzling or dunking.

The fish wasn’t from local waters, and the flavors were definitely inspired by faraway lands, but sometimes a little taste of the exotic is just what the doctor ordered.

Heavenly carrots from the Copley farmers’ market - I wish I could remember the name of the farm. I’ll be back for more and will make a note of it.

This is totally Amy’s fault. I know it’s not the most sustainable option, and it’s definitely not local, but this snapper caught my eye at Whole Foods and I couldn’t leave without it. The filets are simply pan-seared and served on top of peas, favas, carrots and shallot, sauteed ever-so-briefly in butter and finished with a little white vermouth and fresh dill.

To go with the fish, a lip-smacker from our most recent mixed case. Yum.

There will come a time when I’m sick of summer squash. But that time is a long way off.

There will never come a time when I’m sick of pasta. This one’s tossed with the aforementioned summer squash, the rest of our first summer tomato, soft goat cheese, lemon juice and zest, and a sprinkling of opal basil. Simple and delicious.

This really is the most exciting time of year to cook, isn’t it?

I’m not sure but I think the excessive heat we’ve had the last two days has impaired my ability to successfully put a meal together. I didn’t even attempt it on Monday night (we ordered a pizza), but since Mike had installed the air conditioner, I figured I’d give it a shot last night. After all, we had a package of Bomster Scallops thawed in the fridge, and I was anxious to see what the fuss is all about. I figured they’d be a good option for a quick dinner anyway, as scallops really take just minutes to cook, and they wouldn’t heat up the kitchen too much.

I decided rather than searing the scallops, I’d give them a brief soak in buttermilk before coating them in cornmeal. The first problem I encountered is that our buttermilk had frozen in the back of the fridge (as did our crème fraiche, which is why the lemon-savory cream I planned to serve with the scallops didn’t materialize – strike two).

I pressed forward, figuring the buttermilk slush would re-liquefy soon enough (it did). But then I used the wrong pan. Now, you all know how much I love our cast iron skillet, and I use it for darn near everything, but the thing just got too nuclear hot for these scallops – my first batch stuck to the pan, leaving charred cornmeal in the bottom, the scallops still raw.

I quickly grabbed our nonstick pan and got that heating for the next batch, and it worked better, though the crust itself was pretty unsuccessful – the scallops gave off so much liquid after I pulled them out of the pan that the crust was soggy by the time I plated. They were tasty, but not at all what I had intended.

I was more successful with the accompaniments – black rice cooked with shallot and lots of fresh summer savory (already chopped for the lemon-savory cream that was not to be), and blanched shaved asparagus, all dressed with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice. It was light and fresh tasting, not to mention lovely to look at, and I’ll likely revisit the combination in the future. I’m betting it would be great with a poached egg on top.

I wouldn’t call this meal a complete disaster, but it was disappointing. The scallops themselves were, as advertised, really delicious, and I look forward to picking up more at the farmers’ market this weekend and giving them another go next week. But I’ll skip the cornmeal crust.

(On an unrelated note, check out Mike’s first contribution to the Tales of the Cocktail blog, up today.)

As I’ve said before, I really believe that you eat with your eyes first, so I like to spend a little time on plating. Our dinner last night wasn’t anything fancy – a combination of beets, fingerlings and purple potatoes tossed with salt, olive oil and Herbes de Provence and then roasted in the oven, a salmon filet seasoned with salt and pepper and seared on the stovetop, my basic mustard vinaigrette and some pretty microgreens – but the presentation (and flavor) garnered a big “WOW” from my husband. It’s nice to know I can still knock his socks off from time to time.

We’ve been trying to get back into the habit of having seafood dinners a few times a week, both as a way to reduce our meat consumption and to increase our intake of the beneficial oils and fatty acids fish contain. Much as with our other sources of protein, I try to make the best choices possible when buying seafood, choosing types which are local when possible, which are sustainable, and which are low in toxins.

I love adding anchovies to sauces and I have come to love them on their own as well. This is a good thing since they’re not only tasty, but they fit my criteria for the type of fish we want to eat often. Halibut is another favorite, and the wild Alaskan halibut we buy via FreshDirect is Certified Sustainable - it’s far from local, but I can feel okay about buying it when we don’t have much available that is.

In looking for inspiration when planning our meals for the week, I turned again to Sunday Suppers at Lucques, and when I saw the recipe for winter vegetables with bagna cauda I immediately noted it in my little cooking planner. This meal was actually meant to be our Sunday supper this week, but as you know I neglected to thaw the halibut in time. We bumped it to Monday night, and let me tell you it was totally worth the wait. Since I had cut and blanched all of the vegetables Sunday night, this was ready in just minutes - perfect for a quick and satisfying weeknight meal.

There are probably hundreds of recipes out there for bagna cauda; I used Suzanne Goin’s recipe for inspiration but tinkered around with my own proportions. While I think it could have used a bit more anchovy and garlic, it was so good Mike and I both finished our heaping helping of “bathed” veggies before either of us finished our halibut.

Bagna Cauda

1/3 cup good olive oil
5-6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped anchovy filets
red chile flakes to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
kosher salt to taste

Melt the butter in the olive oil in a saucepan, stirring well. Add the anchovies and stir until they dissolve. Add the chile flakes, garlic, lemon zest and thyme and cook just a minute, until the garlic is fragrant and golden. Taste and add a pinch of salt if necessary.

This is traditionally served as a dip with blanched vegetables, but I tossed a mixture of raw endive and radicchio and blanched cauliflower, broccoli florets, radishes, carrots and fennel with small amount of the bagna cauda and spooned a bit more onto my sautéed halibut filets, finishing both with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

It has turned into a bit of a busy week at Chez Dietschyblossom, which has meant that our dinners for the last few nights were fairly quick and uncomplicated. We’re meeting up with friends for dinner tonight, which means I probably won’t be back here until Monday, but I’ll get you caught up on our last couple of dinners:

I’ve had this recipe for Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad bookmarked for a while, and I based Tuesday night’s pasta dinner on it – a delicious mix of red chard sautéed in olive oil with a bit of garlic and fresh thyme, roughly chopped hazelnuts, grated Parmagiano Reggiano and a bit of butter which I then tossed with Gorgonzola ravioli. It was a winning combination of flavors and textures, and a dish which I’ll definitely keep in our repertoire.

I didn’t quite hit the mark with Wednesday’s dinner of sautéed wild striped bass with a Meyer lemon and green olive relish. The fish itself was fine, but the relish was slightly too bitter. I tend not to add sweeteners to my food, but I wonder if a bit of honey might have balanced the flavors out, or perhaps using a fruitier variety of olive. At any rate, I’ll keep playing with the relish recipe – I did like the flavors of the Meyer lemon and herbs (parsley, dill, chives and mint) with the fish.

I’ve got my annual post-holiday lunch date with one of my bosses today which should provide me with lots of inspiration for future fish dishes – we’re going to Le Bernardin, which I’m positively giddy about. I’ll be sure to report back. Have a great weekend!

This is all Amy’s fault.

From the moment I laid eyes on this, I knew I had to try this recipe. How could I not? See, my favorite food in the world next to cheese has got to be potatoes in any form, and when I saw those crisp, delicious looking beauties, I developed a craving for fries that just would not go away. My first thought was to make steak frites, but since we’ve been going so heavy on the meat lately, I decided on moules frites as a lighter option.

I followed the recipe for the fries pretty closely, substituting olive oil for canola because we didn’t have any on hand, and dividing the potatoes over two half-sheet pans. One pan (the one with more wear on it) turned out perfectly crisp, beautiful fries and the other… well, not so much. Those fries stuck to the bottom of the pan, to the sides of the pan, to each other, to anything they could stick to. They were pretty mangled and fugly after I finally turned them all, but I pressed on.

I ended up leaving the fries in the oven for an extra 10 minutes (for a total cooking time of one hour), and when I pulled them out, I had one tray of perfect specimens, and a second tray of perfectly cooked fries that were not going to win any beauty contests, but were just as tasty as their more attractive brethren.

The garlicky topping, I must say, is genius. If you make these fries, do not skip that step. And if you like fries, do try this recipe, because even though my go at them wasn’t all smooth sailing, they were worth the frustration, and I definitely plan to make them again and again.

November is the season for Nantucket Bay scallops, and when I was putting together my last grocery order, I made sure to snatch some up. These sweet little gems are about midway between a regular bay scallop and a sea scallop in size, and they’re perfect for simple, clean-flavored preparations like this pasta dish. My ex-husband used to make something similar (a recipe ganked from some food magazine I’ve long forgotten), and I’ve updated it by adding two of my favorite flavor boosters – chile flakes and fresh lemon zest. This dish is bright and tasty, comes together in literally minutes, and allows the delicious flavor of the scallops to shine.

Cappellini with Nantucket Bay Scallops

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
Kosher salt
1/2 cup dry white wine
Red chile flakes to taste
1/2 lb. Nantucket Bay scallops (or sea scallops, halved or quartered if large)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
3/4 lb. cappellini (angel hair) pasta
Lemon zest
Toasted breadcrumbs

Get a large pot of salted water boiling for the pasta.

Warm olive oil in a wide skillet and add garlic cloves and salt. Cook over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant and beginning to turn golden. Add the wine and chile flakes and let cook for a moment before adding the scallops. Season them with a bit more salt and continue cooking for about 3-4 minutes, until the scallops are just cooked through.

Add the cappellini to the boiling pasta water and cook about 3 minutes. Drain and place into a warmed serving bowl.

Stir the 1/4 cup of parsley into the scallops and remove them from the heat. Pour the scallops and sauce over the pasta and toss gently. Divide between bowls or plates and top each serving with additional chopped parsley, grated lemon zest, and a sprinkling of toasted breadcrumbs.

We usually have wine with dinner, and when I’m planning out the pairings, the food usually comes first. But as I was putting together a grocery order last week and browsing the bottles available through Best Cellars, I was surprised to see a white wine listed among their “Big” selections. The bottle in question was a 2004 Oriel “Dylan” Russian River Valley Chardonnay, and while I’m not usually a fan of big Chardonnays, and the bottle was a bit more spendy than we usually go for weeknight dinners, the description of the wine had me intrigued. I added it to our cart and began thinking about building a meal around it.

I like pairing scallops with Chardonnay, so I decided on that as my protein – simply seared, with a little vermouth-enriched brown butter. The side was a bit more challenging; since scallops are so mild, I tend to match them with something more aggressively flavored or seasoned, but I didn’t want to make anything overpowering. As luck or serendipity would have it, I happened upon a few recipes for celery root remoulade over the weekend, and decided to go with a variation on that theme. I added fennel and apple to the mix, and ended up with a wonderful combination of crunchy, creamy, tart, sweet and tangy – a great foil for both the scallops and our delicious bottle of wine.

Celeriac, Fennel and Apple Remoulade

1 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon extra-hot Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 oz. crème fraiche
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 not-too-tart green apple
1 small bulb fennel
1 small celery root (celeriac)

Place kosher salt in a bowl, add lemon juice and whisk until salt is dissolved. Add mustard, mayo, crème fraiche and tarragon, and whisk again until well combined.

Core the apple, slice into matchsticks and add to dressing. Core the fennel bulb and slice as thinly as possible. Peel celery root and slice into matchsticks. Blanch the fennel and celery root briefly in unsalted water. Remove the vegetables using a spider or slotted spoon and shock them in an ice bath. Drain them well, pat dry, and add to the dressing. Toss until the mixture is well-combined, cover, and chill before serving.